The most recent expansion: Gloom: Unquiet Dead introduces some of the newer aspects that were unique to Cthulhu Gloom base game, such as "story cards" and transformations.

Cthulhu Gloom's sole expansion: Cthulhu Gloom: Unpleasant Dreams provides 2 'unwelcome guest' cards, which begin at the center of the table but jump from player's family to player's family depending on certain cards played and thus function as another family member to be killed.This function of the 'unwelcome guests' first appeared in the regular Gloom expansion Gloom: Unwelcome Guests.

The remaining regular Gloom expansions Gloom: Unhappy Homes, which introduces an optional house for your family, and Gloom: Unfortunate Expeditions which deals with 4 cards at the center of the table representing the four cardinal directions, are not represented in Cthulhu Gloom. In my opinion, Unfortunate Expeditions is the most annoying to deal with and the houses are not really needed, but can add some extras to the story telling aspect of the game depending on how much you play that stuff up.

Either game is good, if you play just on making your own family sad and deceased. If you play up more of the story telling stuff, I'd have to agree with others that the Cthulhu stuff may be more enjoyable if you know the ins & outs of the various Lovecraft stories.

So maybe what the expansions have to offer might help you with your decision.

The big reason I tell people to stay away from Cthulhu Gloom is its focus; while the game was prettied up, and the art is fantastic as always, it's a lot easier for people to find fun and humor in being Mauled by Manatees versus Squashed by a Shoggoth. The former is easier to picture, is a bit more ridiculous, a lot sillier when you compound it with a Drowned by Ducks or any other number of things.

Cthulhu Gloom would probably be alright with a group of fellow HARDCORE Lovecraft lovers, and you can really use it to tell stories, but the entire tone is less of the wacky, generalized macabre of the original. Does your regular group know what a Tcho-Tcho is? Can they roughly draw what an Elder Thing and Yithian looks like, and describe their basic backgrounds? If so, you might enjoy Cthulhu Gloom just fine. If not, it's just a bunch of random words for 'em.

Of course, maybe a story with people who didn't have any clue what these things were would be MORE funny to those who knew, just for the absurdity.

Agreed that between the two, also as a big Lovecraft fan of that mythos fiction, the original Gloom is quite accessible to new players as it hits on that Addams Family/Edward Gorey vibe that many more can relate to.

Alternatively in support of getting Cthulhu Gloom, there are a lot of cards similar to the normal Gloom 'rest in peace' cards that are in the Cthulhu Gloom that might bring someone back to life or do other things so there are some fun new mechanics in it.

But as others have posted I'd say get this over the normal Gloom you are big into Lovecraft/Cthulhu (as this is not a game to get to introduce people into Lovecraft/Cthulhu, go with the fiction or the Dark Adventure Radio adaptations from the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society). You will enjoy the text & stories in Cthulhu Gloom more but it doesn't add a ton to the overall game. They are both good for someone like me, just depends on who you are playing with.